What’s Love Got To Do With It?

Using Marketing as a Tool to Create a Brand People Love

We’re oversaturated with options of where we can spend our money. From your morning coffee to turning off your nightlight, you’ve likely come into contact with tens of thousands of brand messages a day.

What makes a company stand out in a sea of potentials and what do those who stand out all have in common?

They get their audience to fall in love with them.

Brand advocacy is said to be one of the most important tools when marketing your business. One of your marketing goals should be to convert your fans into brand ambassadors. You want to foster a relationship with your customer that makes them want to convert others as well. Take it back to your morning coffee we previously mentioned. When you think of coffee in America, Starbucks is often the first thing to come to mind. What is Starbucks doing to create this combined and unified vision and a love of this coffee chain in our hearts? Starbucks can trace their success in part down to their efforts that have created brand evangelism.

When a customer develops brand affinity, they will not only be more likely to stick with that company, but they will be willing to offer referrals so that others might as well. So, what are ways we can influence that brand affinity?

Core Values

Core values are a great place to start. Look at what kind of relationship you’ll have with your customers and identify what that relationship is based upon. Core values not only tell a story about who you are as a company and what you stand for, but they provide an outline of how you’re expecting your customers to interact with your business. Everything in your business should be guided by a clear and strong set of core values. Marketing efforts amount to nothing without a strategy and plan. Think of a strong set of core values as a cornerstone of this plan.

Your Story

When you know what kind of relationship you’d like your customers to have with your business, you can start thinking about branding. Part of your brand is the lifestyle that your customer can see themselves living. This is why telling a story your customers can relate to is especially important. Stories activate a part in our brains called Neural coupling that allows the reader to create an image in their mind of themselves living in this story. If that story includes an emotional element, it then releases dopamine which creates signals between neurons of the brain making it a more memorable piece of information. And, there within lies the importance of storytelling as part of your marketing strategy.

Customer Service

Once you’ve established your values and your story, exceptional customer service is what keeps those elements alive. Often the reason why a customer service experience is memorable at all is simply the way they made you feel.

$62 billion is lost each year from poor customer service alone. This is a huge indicator of how important it is to meet your customer’s needs and to offer top-notch service. The main way you can do this is simply to know your business or product, consider your customer’s needs, and show your customers that you appreciate their time and money.

In a world with so much that consumers can choose from, knowing the secrets to what attracts your customer and creates a deep affinity is crucial. A strong marketing strategy built on love is the key to your customer’s hearts.